The Justice Department expects to send approximately 1,000 election monitors to polling locations during the November midterms, significantly expanding its presence as the Trump administration emphasizes election integrity, voting-law compliance and public confidence.
By yourNEWS Media Newsroom
The Justice Department is preparing to deploy approximately 1,000 election monitors across the country for the November midterms, according to Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights Harmeet Dhillon.
Dhillon disclosed the planned scale of the operation Monday during an appearance on Bloomberg’s “Balance of Power”, where she discussed the department’s election-security efforts and the Trump administration’s focus on voter confidence.
The Bloomberg interview outlined what could become one of the Justice Department’s largest election-monitoring deployments in recent years.
“We will do it to the tune of approximately 1,000 election monitors in the November election,” Dhillon said.
She noted that the Civil Rights Division has sent personnel to election “hot spots” for decades, both to address problems at polling places and to bolster confidence that elections are being conducted in accordance with federal law.
Election monitoring is not unique to the Trump administration. The Justice Department has routinely dispatched personnel under both Republican and Democratic presidents to enforce federal voting laws and protect eligible voters.
During the 2024 presidential election, the department sent monitors to 86 jurisdictions. It monitored 64 jurisdictions during the 2022 midterms, according to The Washington Post.
The administration has not yet finalized which jurisdictions will receive federal monitors this November.
Dhillon said possible locations could include areas where officials have identified concerns involving language access, disability access or suspected voter fraud.
The Justice Department has already sent monitors to several locations during the 2026 primary season.
In Michigan, federal personnel were deployed to Detroit, Hamtramck, Lansing and East Lansing.
The department said the operation was intended to ensure “transparency, ballot security, and compliance with federal law.”
DOJ personnel also monitored polling locations in three Arizona counties in July.
The expansion has drawn concern from Democratic lawmakers.
A group of Democratic senators recently urged the Justice Department to ensure that federal monitors remain nonpartisan and do not interfere with election administration conducted by state and local officials.
Dhillon rejected the idea that the practice represents a new form of federal intervention, emphasizing that election monitoring has been part of the Justice Department’s responsibilities for many years.
The Civil Rights Division is also involved in broader disputes over voter-registration records.
Dhillon said the department is examining allegations that some election officials have failed to remove ineligible registrations from voter rolls, including registrations associated with people who are deceased and individuals who are not U.S. citizens.
According to Dhillon, states that have cooperated with the Justice Department have voter rolls containing hundreds of thousands of deceased people and tens of thousands of noncitizens.
She cautioned, however, that such records do not by themselves establish that anyone actually voted illegally and said further investigation is necessary before making individual allegations.
“The goal is not so much going after one voter here or there,” Dhillon said. “It is increasing all American citizens’ confidence in our elections.”
The planned deployment of approximately 1,000 monitors represents a substantial expansion from the number of jurisdictions monitored in the previous two major federal election cycles.
The Justice Department has not yet announced a final list of locations or detailed how the 1,000 personnel will be distributed.
For now, Dhillon said the department’s focus remains on enforcing federal election law, addressing access and compliance concerns and examining voter-roll issues ahead of the November midterms.
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